Jeff Bingham
Played by: Patrick Warburton
A droll, sports-loving finanical manager and Audrey's husband.- Big Eater: Audrey repeatedly tries to get Jeff to lighten up on the cholesterol to no avail.
- Covert Pervert: While he's not a sleaze like Russell, Jeff isn't above checking Jennifer out or having sexual fantasies about her.
- Insane Proprietor: Jeff only buys electronics from stores owned by them, because crazy store owners offer the best deals.
- Intoxication Ensues: Jeff accidentally eats one of Adam and Jennifer's pot brownies. There's not much difference between stoned Jeff and sober Jeff except stoned Jeff eats more.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jeff tends to be cold and indifferent to just about everything Audrey talks about, but he loves her and always come through for her and his friends. He also does whatever he can to make a situation right once he realizes he's made a mistake.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Jeff gets smashed and ends up crashing a wedding because after realizing he was being stupid by not going to it like Audrey wanted him to.
- Men Are Uncultured: Jeff loves sports and action movies, only going to museums and concerts because Audrey enjoys them.
- Not Wearing Pants: Jeff has a "Jeff was right" dance which involves him taking off his pants.
- Real Men Eat Meat: Jeff goes for stereotypically macho food.
- The Scrooge: Jeff is a more heroic example, but it's repeatedly shown that he's extremely stingy about spending money. It's even revealed at one point that Audrey doesn't worry about Jeff going to strip clubs because she knows that he's too cheap to buy private dances. Justified as he works in finance.
- Self-Induced Allergic Reaction: Jeff eats a strawberry to get out of an interminable dinner date with an annoying co-worker of his wife Audrey.
- The Stoic: As Russell noted in one episode, Jeff's face looks the same even when he's angry.
- Trickster Mentor: Jeff often serves as one to Adam.
Audrey Bingham
Played by: Megyn Price
A dry-witted magazine editor and Jeff's wife.- Buxom Beauty Standard:
- In one episode, a 10-year-old boy tries to blackmail Audrey into showing him her boobs. He passes on blackmailing Jennifer, however, stating that she's "kind of flat."
- In another episode we learn that Audrey once considered getting breast reduction surgery, but Jeff objected.
- Fake Pregnancy: In one episode Audrey is Mistaken for Pregnant following a poorly phrased remark at work. Finding she enjoys the attention, she then fakes being pregnant while she attempts to become pregnant for real.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Audrey is blonde and - snarkiness aside - probably the nicest of the main characters.
- Informed Ability: An in-universe example. Audrey frequently claims that she's a "people person", but nobody seems to believe her. And when she attempts to prove that she's a people person it usually ends badly.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: After having to rely on a surrogate to carry their child, Audrey finds out in the final episode that she's pregnant for real.
- Mistaken for Pregnant: Happens to Audrey as the result of a poorly phrased remark about a pregnant co-worker. Finding she enjoys the special consideration being pregnant brings her at work, she tries desperately to actually become pregnant. When she eventually comes clean and tells her co-workers that she is not pregnant, they mistakenly interpret this to mean that she has had a miscarriage.
- Ms. Fanservice: A Running Gag is that Audrey will occasionally end up in a state of undress at the worst possible moment.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Audrey believes herself to have a fair grasp of the Spanish language. She doesn't; in the episode "A Big Bust" she ends up soliciting donations for what she thinks is surgery to fix the bad knee of her Hispanic housekeeper. In reality it's breast augmentation surgery that results in the housekeeper having very large boobs.
- Sore Loser: Jeff consistently beats Audrey at the board game Monopoly, and Audrey never handles losing well.
Adam Rhodes
Played by: Oliver Hudson
A cheerful, friendly (albeit dim-witted) fiancee to Jennifer.- Brainless Beauty: In one episode Adam scruffies himself up to try and prove that people like him for his personality, instead of just his looks. It doesn't work.
- Butt-Monkey: By the series end, Adam has somehow fallen so far down the social chain, even Russell and Timmy are a couple of notches above him.
- Camp Straight: Adam sometimes behaves in an effeminate or flamboyant manner, causing Russell and Jeff to crack jokes at his expense. It's even revealed in season 5 that Adam was a cheerleader when he was in high school.
- Caught with Your Pants Down: Jennifer refers to Adam as "Spanky" and he thinks this is because she walked in on him one time. He launches into a spirited defense of his actions in front of his friends, only to discover she was making a reference to The Little Rascals.
- The Ditz: Especially in the later seasons. He is so naive and trusting that Jennifer can easily manipulate him into doing anything she wants (although she often feels guilty about it afterward).
- Forbidden Fruit: When Adam is told not to order extremely spicy Indian food, it only makes him want to order it even more.
- Flanderization: Adam becomes increasingly stupid as the seasons progressed. This has been noted by the actor himself, who doesn't seem to mind it much.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: By the end. Jeff tries to avoid him frequently, Russell keeps him around just to mock him, Timmy often snarks him when he isn't snarking Russell, and even Audrey doesn't stop Jeff's attempts to avoid Adam. The poor guy doesn't deserve it either.
- Hands-Off Parenting: Adam was raised by hippies.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Adam has a habit of taking an interest in something and treating his friends with a smug condescention for not being experts. He usually gets his just desserts for doing so.
- Manchild: Adam has devolved to this, especially in non-work related scenes, thanks to Flanderization.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Jennifer. Adam is a Camp Straight guy who used to be a cheerleader in high school, loves Broadway musicals, and is so well-groomed that Jeff and Russell constantly crack jokes about him being gay.
- Mistaken for Gay: Happens to Adam when Jennifer buys him a messenger bag that looks like a purse, much to Russell's amusement. In another episode, Adam is mistaken for gay because he goes to a sports bar to watch a game and orders a girly cocktail instead of a more manly drink. This causes an actual gay man to start hitting on him.
- With Friends Like These...: Adam thinks Jeff and Russell are his best friends. At best, they tolerate him and at worst, constantly make fun of him. He's too stupid to realize it though.
Jennifer Morgan
Played by: Bianca Kajlich
Adam's more intelligent (though way less innocent) fiancee.- Ambiguously Brown: At least according to Jeff. In one episode he mistakenly believes her to be a Latina (in reality, actress Bianca Kajlich is of Italian and Eastern European descent).
- Can't Take Criticism: Adam learns the hard way that working with Jennifer isn't all it's cracked up to be when he points out her graphic designs don't fit his company's identity.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Jennifer gets this when Adam's ex-girlfriend comes to stay due to a hotel mix-up.
- Home Porn Movie: Adam and Jennifer make one of these in one episode, but it turns out that the camera does not flatter them and they're grossed out by how they look when they're having sex. In another episode, it's implied that one of Jennifer's old college boyfriends uploaded a tape of them having sex to the internet.
- Hypocrite: Jennifer finds Russell's womanizing repulsive, but she herself has an extensive history of sexual adventures.
- Lysistrata Gambit: Jennifer threatens to withhold sex from Adam to get a pet dog instead of a bird. Turns out neither has the willpower to do that, so they end up getting a dog and bird.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Adam. Jen is a tomboy who likes dogs, classic muscle cars, and has an aggressive sex drive.
- Mistaken Nationality: In one episode, Jeff repeatedly refers to Jen by Spanish surnames, as he thought she was Latina.
- Mood-Swinger: Most of the time Jennifer is upbeat, but when push comes to shove she can turn into a total dragon.
- Really Gets Around: A Running Gag is that Jennifer was very sexually active before meeting Adam.
Russell Dunbar
Played by: David Spade
A middle-aged skirt-chaser that the two main couples only tolerate so they can laugh at his shortcomings.- Bad Boss: To Timmy, although it gets less severe in the later seasons.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Well, more like "Brilliant, But Horny"; in one episode we learn that when Russell doesn't spend all his time and energy trying to get laid he is a gifted violinist, sculptor, painter, and architect.
- Broke Episode: Russell's mom cuts off his trust fund, which only affects him in a couple of episodes in that he temporarily moves in with Timmy and has trouble getting women to sleep with him. But his financial problems only last for about two episodes.
- Bullying a Dragon: Russell routinely insults Jeff's intelligence and appearance, only to be quickly and utterly shut down every time. In an early episode, Jeff even noted that Russell should stop listening to whatever impulse is telling him not to be afraid of someone twice his size and much stronger than him.
- Butt-Monkey: Russell is treated like this by the rest of the cast, although most of the time, it's because of his single status. Russell considers it complimentary most of the time.
- The Casanova: On a good day and usually through lying. Russell also ends up a Casanova Wannabe when trying to score with wiser women.
- Catchphrase: Russell has "Nurtz!" and "I kinda did!"
- Character Development: Russell was the subject of multiple episodes where he gains development and backstory, such as enjoying theatre/musicals because as a child, his nanny would sneak him out and it was one of the only places that he felt alive in.
- Dirty Old Man: Middle-aged in his case, but Russell's obsession with women half his age is his major defining trait.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Although Russell is pretty amoral and selfish most of the time, he refuses to make a move on the woman Timmy was arranged to be married to until after Timmy calls off the wedding, despite the fact that Russell fell in love with her the moment he saw her.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: To the point where after learning that Timmy saved his life twice in a row, the others' responses include "Why?", "What were you thinking?", and "You had two chances." Not to mention, Jeff and Audrey refuse to have their baby named after anyone Russell has slept with.
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Russell. According to his psychological evaluation (done by sending Timmy to impersonate him with a list of details), he has classic tell-tale signs of narcissistic personality disorder, minor sociopathic tendencies and really should never be left unsupervised.
- Hidden Depths: Russell has a few of these, one being his love of theatre/musicals. And his singing brings Timmy to tears.
- Insult Backfire: Russell when the others call him names, specifically when they relate him to a celebrity on a mocking way. He says: "[the same celebrity in a complimentary context]? I'll profess that."
- It happens frequently with Russell, not just when people call him names. For example, in one episode Audrey tells Russell that the woman he's on a date with is young enough to be his daughter. Russell replies by saying that even though she meant it as an insult, he takes it as a compliment.
- Mistaken for Gay: Sort of a running gag with Russell and Timmy.
- Somehow, he manages to be "paired" up with Timmy. In one episode, Timmy falls for a woman who is attracted to musicians, so Russell teaches him a song on guitar so Timmy can serenade her (in reality, Russell is setting Timmy up to humiliate himself). When Timmy starts performing the song and doing horrible, Russell feels bad and joins him on stage to try and salvage the performance. This gesture does not win over the woman Timmy likes; it just causes her to think that Timmy and Russell are a gay couple.
- Jeff and Audrey catch Russell walking out of an auditorium after a theatre show, making Jeff tease him about being a Gay Theater Geek. Then we find out that the woman he'd gone with was highly convinced that he was gay, and his willingness to go and watch a play with her had "confirmed" it. Jeff teases Russell about this for the rest of the episode.
- Neat Freak: Russell is this when it comes to his apartment. The only people he normally allows into his apartment are women he intends to have sex with and the pizza delivery guy. All other guests must wear paper booties over their feet and Russell insists that they not touch anything.
- Parental Abandonment: Russell's parents were emotionally distant. Russell's less bothered that his father tried to contest paternity, than the fact that he tried to appeal the results afterwards.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After Timmy resigns, Russell finally realizes he'd taken his assistant for granted and offers to a green card marriage to Timmy so that he won't get deported. When Jeff and Audrey tell their friends that they're expecting a second child, Russell seems genuinely happy for the two of them, even getting a hug from Jeff.
Timmy Patel
Played by: Adhir Kalyan
Russell's new personal assistant, who responds to his inane management style with deadpan sarcasm.- Butt-Monkey: Timmy is Russell's personal Butt-Monkey, though he doesn't get it as badly in newer episodes. If anything, he actually manages to hand this trope squarely back to Russell by being a Servile Snarker.
- Characterization Marches On: Timmy was initially an enthusiastic and naive upstart hoping to earn Russell's good graces. By his second appearance he's already grown jaded and copes with his lot in life by making droll comments.
- Mistaken Nationality: Russell continually thinks Timmy is English. He is actually South African.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Whenever Timmy chooses to be nice to Russell, it ends badly for Timmy. Like when Timmy saved Russell from choking to death, and Russell accused Timmy of sexual harassment.
- Only Sane Man: Being a late addition to the main cast, Timmy comes off as the least quirky member of the group.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: As of Season 4.
- Servile Snarker: Timmy quickly settles into this after Russell hires him and makes him do the most degrading tasks imaginable.
- Stereotype Reaction Gag: Jeff asks Timmy if he knows someone who can get him a quality rug at well below quality prices.Timmy: Oh, I see. Because I'm of Indian descent it stands to reason I have a friend or relative who is a carpet merchant.
Jeff: Well do you?
Timmy:...yes. - Training from Hell: When Timmy complains about his constant poor treatment from Russell, Russell says that it's part of his "tough love" approach to mentoring, and points out that his previous assistants have gone on to have very successful careers. One such assistant went on to become a successful game developer...whose latest game was a blatant diss on Russell.
